Report: Christie blames bridge bruhaha on media conspiracy

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Gov. Christie went to California after dancing with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight show, then on to a political rally in Utah sponsored by Mitt Romney.

They showed the group the dance number with Fallon Thursday night at the Romney event Saturday. The audience was about 300 GOP money donors. Media was barred but people in the audience talked to reporters afterward. They said Christie tried forcefully to dismiss concerns.

One of the first questions was whether the controversy over the lanes closure was behind him. The Los Angeles Times reported Christie framed the bridge scandal as "a media conspiracy against him" after he won 61 percent of the vote in his gubernatorial race. His opponents, he said, were trying to prevent him from getting any 'more altitude.'

He told the crowd: "I'm not that worried about it. I hope none of you are worried about it, though I expect some of you are. But you'll get over it. It will be fine." While Christie said it was behind him, reporters there said the big donors hadn't put it behind them and were looking at other candidates. That included Romney who has said he will not run.

Others there included U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Martinez was said to not have made much of an impression, demanding a podium the others didn't have.